The Sun Sets on Bikefest 2013

April 16, 2013

After 4 weekends of bicycle loving, Melbourne Bikefest 2013 has drawn to a close, and we are getting all misty eyed thinking back over the 7 years that have passed since we first staged a bicycle event in Melbourne.

A lot has changed in that time, we don’t need statistics to tell us that many more people are riding bikes in our urban areas – we can see them with our own eyes! We are also hearing the voices of bike riders more often and in more places; discussions around riding (positive or otherwise) fill the news and media; and in the cultural and commercial sphere, representations of bike riders are everywhere.

We have worked hard to re-position bikes and their riders as everyday citizens, people who eat, drink, cook, dance, make art, enjoy music, work, vote, make good and bad decisions, live and love just like anyone. We have also worked hard to connect the many disparate micro communities of bike lovers to create a louder voice through Bikefest – the so called Squeaky Wheel to niggle at the mainstream notion of bike riders as misplaced athletes clogging up the roads.

And we’ve achieved our aim! (Or at the very least pulled up beside it at the lights). In many ways, the Melbourne we first approached with a bicycle themed offering 7 years ago has gone – replaced by a more bicycle-confident, bicycle-connected and bicycle-curious community.

So, in 2013, in the warm embrace of this two wheeled hug, we’ve decided it’s the perfect time to change paths. We’re not exactly sure where the new path will lead us (although we’ve got a good idea of where to start), we may need to ride a while to clear out the cobwebs – don’t worry we’ve got plenty of squeak left in the wheel! But we want to say thank you for riding with us to here.

The Sun Sets on Bikefest 2013

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After 4 weekends of bicycle loving, Melbourne Bikefest 2013 has drawn to a close, and we are getting all misty eyed thinking back over the 7 years that have passed since we first staged a bicycle event in Melbourne.

A lot has changed in that time, we don’t need statistics to tell us that many more people are riding bikes in our urban areas – we can see them with our own eyes! We are also hearing the voices of bike riders more often and in more places; discussions around riding (positive or otherwise) fill the news and media; and in the cultural and commercial sphere, representations of bike riders are everywhere.

We have worked hard to re-position bikes and their riders as everyday citizens, people who eat, drink, cook, dance, make art, enjoy music, work, vote, make good and bad decisions, live and love just like anyone. We have also worked hard to connect the many disparate micro communities of bike lovers to create a louder voice through Bikefest – the so called Squeaky Wheel to niggle at the mainstream notion of bike riders as misplaced athletes clogging up the roads.

And we’ve achieved our aim! (Or at the very least pulled up beside it at the lights). In many ways, the Melbourne we first approached with a bicycle themed offering 7 years ago has gone – replaced by a more bicycle-confident, bicycle-connected and bicycle-curious community.

So, in 2013, in the warm embrace of this two wheeled hug, we’ve decided it’s the perfect time to change paths. We’re not exactly sure where the new path will lead us (although we’ve got a good idea of where to start), we may need to ride a while to clear out the cobwebs – don’t worry we’ve got plenty of squeak left in the wheel! But we want to say thank you for riding with us to here.

After 4 weekends of bicycle loving, Melbourne Bikefest 2013 has drawn to a close, and we are getting all misty eyed thinking back over the 7 years that have passed since we first staged a bicycle event in Melbourne.

A lot has changed in that time, we don’t need statistics to tell us that many more people are riding bikes in our urban areas – we can see them with our own eyes! We are also hearing the voices of bike riders more often and in more places; discussions around riding (positive or otherwise) fill the news and media; and in the cultural and commercial sphere, representations of bike riders are everywhere.

We have worked hard to re-position bikes and their riders as everyday citizens, people who eat, drink, cook, dance, make art, enjoy music, work, vote, make good and bad decisions, live and love just like anyone. We have also worked hard to connect the many disparate micro communities of bike lovers to create a louder voice through Bikefest – the so called Squeaky Wheel to niggle at the mainstream notion of bike riders as misplaced athletes clogging up the roads.

And we’ve achieved our aim! (Or at the very least pulled up beside it at the lights). In many ways, the Melbourne we first approached with a bicycle themed offering 7 years ago has gone – replaced by a more bicycle-confident, bicycle-connected and bicycle-curious community.

So, in 2013, in the warm embrace of this two wheeled hug, we’ve decided it’s the perfect time to change paths. We’re not exactly sure where the new path will lead us (although we’ve got a good idea of where to start), we may need to ride a while to clear out the cobwebs – don’t worry we’ve got plenty of squeak left in the wheel! But we want to say thank you for riding with us to here.